The U.S. and Global Security Review - Blog by Michael Novakhov

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Reform of Russia’s ailing economy cannot wait Sunday December 6 th , 2015  at  6:34 PM 1 Share ©Reuters Russian president Vladimir Putin P resident Vladimir Putin’s annual address to Russia’s parliament last week began with the expected rallying call to fight Islamist terrorism, and praise for the country’s military in Syria. He threatened to make Turkey “regret more than once” shooting down a Russian bomber last month. But then  Mr Putin  devoted much of his speech to domestic issues — above all, Russia’s growing economic difficulties. Such attention is welcome, though words are not enough. The Kremlin’s obsession with projecting military resurgence in the face of supposed external threats has long trumped economic issues. Now the impact of low  oil prices , western sanctions and failure to modernise is too harmful to ignore. Russia’s economy  has proved somewhat more resilient than expected. Output will contract by 4 per cent this year, less